Me and Mary and a Dinosaur

This is me and my wife Mary, taken during our trip to Disney World in May 2001.

Mary died in May 2004, nearly 3 years to the day after this picture.

We'd just discovered she had breast cancer a few weeks prior, and decided what the hell: let's go to Disney World again. We splurged on a Concierge level stay at the Wilderness Lodge, and upon check-in were whisked to the super-secret top floor where VIPs stay. We were met by our personal Concierge, who showed us our room and interviewed us briefly about our favorite attractions at the parks.

We listed a few things, but high on the list was Universe of Energy at Epcot. Mary and I both liked dinosaurs, and it was one of our go-to things to see for every visit. He nodded sagely, wrote a few things down and smiled. "I'll see what I can do. Keep your cell phone handy."

The next day we went to Magic Kingdom first (tradition) and about noon we got a call from our Concierge. "Can you be at Universe of Energy around 3pm?"

Of course we could. We hopped parks and made it there with plenty of time. We took a few photos of the outside of the building to kill time and a few minutes later a Disney employee in polo shirt and slacks approached us.

"Are you David and Mary?"

We shook hands and he introduced himself as the manager for this section of Epcot. Not the manager for UoE, but a large section of the whole park. He explained that before his current position he had run this ride for many years and knew everything there was about it, and when he heard we were fans he volunteered himself to show us around.

"Besides, It'll get me out of some meetings," he laughed.

We started with the Ellen pre-show and let us watch for a moment, but then led us through a Cast Members Only door and into hallways beside the big theater. We ended up in a mission-control style room filled with black-and-white monitors viewing various aspects of the ride vehicles travelling through the dinosaur section.

"Those aren't really black-n-white," he explained, "it's infrared. We can see in the dark, stop the ride if somebody does something foolish, like exiting a vehicle."

Next we descended a catwalk and stood behind a black door with an exit push-bar. He listened intently for a few moments, nodded, then led us through.

"Had to wait for a vehicle to pass," he explained, leading us out onto the concrete floor of... millions of years ago.

Dinosaurs, all around us. Still in motion, still eating one another, still flapping their wings. Mary and I were in superstitious awe, craning our heads like tourists. He watched with a smile.

But soon he motioned us onward -- another ride vehicle was coming, and we needed to stay in the gaps between them if we weren't to be seen, to ruin the illusion for other guests.

So we ended up WALKING the attraction, room to room. In the dark. Seeing these audioanimatronic beasts up close, touching them. The illusion holds up even at close range, it's very remarkable.

The picture you see here is the only one we took during the experience, because we'd assumed (wrongly) that photography was forbidden. We learned this not to be the case when he gestured for our camera.

"Want your picture taken?"

Of course we did. And we posed before this baby brachiosaur and FLASH it was done.

He eventually led us to a Cast Member exit hidden behind some ferns, through cool well-lit corridors, and out of the building. Millions of years passed in a minute or two.

Outside he presented us with his business card ("Call any time, I mean it. Ask questions, or meet me for lunch. I'd be honored.") and some jump-to-the-head-of-the-line VIP passes for any ride at Epcot. He waved and disappeared back into the Energy building.

It was one of our most memorable Disney escapes, for many reasons. We'd go back again, before 2004, but things would be different during those later trips. More difficult, more emotional.

For me, Disney represents a wide range of emotions and experiences. But part of it will always be the Universe of Energy with Mary in it, smiling.